Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 8, 1990 TAG: 9005080051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
As part of the comprehensive plan, the bikeway plan will first go Thursday to the Montgomery County Planning Commission for review and approval during a special work session.
Then the plan will be forwarded to the county's Board of Supervisors.
Committee members working on the plan are confident of final approval. Work is scheduled to begin in July.
"It's a realistic plan," said Susan Swain, the county planner assigned to coordinate the committee studying the bikeway and walkway plan. "We're only asking for funding of nine trails. We tried not to be outrageous by asking for large sums of money."
Exact cost figures were not yet available.
The bikeway and walkway plan was started last year after the supervisors approved funding of almost four miles of bike lanes along Virginia 723, which will be completed when the road is widened and improved by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
A draft map was presented and discussed at four county comprehensive plan citizen meetings in February. Comments from county residents were incorporated into the 10-year plan.
Most of the citizens agreed on a number of issues, such as promoting bikeways that have been made safe.
Citizens believe that more people will use them, especially for commuting.
Also, citizens said the county needs to determine the number of cyclists in the valley, as well as create a better road between Blacksburg and Christiansburg and a between Blacksburg and Roanoke.
The Huckleberry Trail was called an asset for the county and one that has become the plan's number one priority.
According to the plan, this proposed bike route, along with nine others, can be paid for as the highway department's road improvements occur, making them cost effective.
The Huckleberry Trail, a historic, abandoned railroad right-of-way that originally extended between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, begins near the entrance to Warm Hearth Retirement Village.
The off-road trail would follow the old railroad line and create a linear park parallel to U.S. 460. It would also serve as a commuter link between the two towns.
The plan recommends that the 3-mile trail extend to the New River Valley Mall.
"We want to connect Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Montgomery County," said Nancy Alderman, Blacksburg's senior planner and member of the town's subcommittee on bikeway and walkway planning.
"We hope to acquire a grant that will also allow us to put in shelters and bathrooms. This is fascinating territory and it should be enjoyed."
Other recommendations include appointing a regional committee to coordinate and implement bikeways, a county or regional bicycle map and encouraging bike safety and maintenance programs.
Few revisions were made to the plan at the committee meeting last Thursday, Swain said.
However, she said, there will be stronger recommendations that shared roads between bikes and cars have clear signs and markings.
Some 30 roads have been recommended as shared roads because of their low traffic counts and rural nature, according to the plan.
Grants, such as the Virginia Outdoors Grant, also are suggested as sources of money if the highway department's six-year road plan changes. And citizen support exists for a bicycle license that would help raise revenue for bike facilities.
by CNB